Situation in Yemen's Hodeida 'alarming', aid at risk: UN

GENEVA, Sept 14: The UN warned Friday that shelling
and air strikes in Yemen's Hodeida province have
targeted humanitarian workers and infrastructure,
threatening its ability to feed 3.5 million "very
hungry people," reports AFP
The World Food Programme (WFP) said it was "extremely
concerned about the series of security incidents in
Hodeida city these past few days in and around
deconflicted sites critical for the humanitarian
response in Yemen", describing the situation as
"alarming".
The UN agency warned that "the conflict (is)
threatening the continuity of humanitarian assistance
to the city and surrounding areas where needs are
among the highest in the country."
Fighting has raged in recent days close to the rebel-
held port city, a crucial entry point for aid that
the Saudi-led coalition alleges also serves as a key
conduit for arms to the Iran-backed Huthis.
Alongside the threat of combat, civilians also face
severe shortages of food, water and medicine in
Hodeida province, according to the UN.
In August, WFP said it had provided emergency food
assistance to some 700,000 of the around 900,000
people in the province considered to be at severe
risk.
Agency spokesman Herve Verhoosel decried that a
number of security incidences had been reported since
Wednesday, including at the Red Sea Mill Silos, which
mill a quarter of the agency's monthly wheat
requirements in Yemen.
"The ongoing clashes could jeopardise the shipments
of 46,000 tonnes of wheat expected to arrive to
Hodeida within the next ten days," Verhoosel told
reporters in Geneva.
Clashes near the mill "could impact our ability to
feed up to 3.5 million very hungry people in northern
and central Yemen for one month," he warned.
He said that a mortar shell launched by an
unidentified armed group had also hit a WFP warehouse
in Hodeida city "holding enough food to assist 19,200
very hungry people." That attack injured a guard at
the warehouse, he added.
Fighting has also been reported "in extremely close
proximity" to WFP's offices and housing, Verhoosel
said.
This, he said, "could potentially compromise the
safety and security of 33 WFP staff in Hodeida city
currently working round the clock to assist Yemenis
suffering from acute hunger and malnutrition."
He said the agency was doing everything possible "to
ensure the safety and security of our staff".
Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen's
conflict since 2015, when the Saudi-led alliance
intervened in support of the government.